The present invention relates in general to trailers, such as boat trailers, camper trailers and mobile homes, and in particular to a new and useful device which can be manually manipulated for directionally moving the tongue of a trailer to help align the socket which is typically provided on the trailer tongue, with the ball of a conventional trailer hitch, which is attached to the towing vehicle.
For very light items that are to be transported by a trailer, such as a very small aluminum skiff, it is a fairly simple matter to connect the trailer to the trailer hitch. In such a case, a person physically pulls and positions the trailer so that the socket of the trailer tongue is directly above the ball of the trailer hitch, so that the socket can be lowered onto the ball.
For a very heavy trailer load, however, the foregoing procedure cannot be followed because the trailer is simply too heavy for a person to physically maneuver the socket into position over the ball of the trailer hitch. Hence, the most often used method of connecting to a heavily laden trailer is by backing up the towing vehicle until the towing hitch is directly under the socket of the trailer tongue. The problem with such a procedure is that the driver of the towing vehicle is operating "blindly", i.e. he cannot see the trailer hitch or tongue. Hence, it usually takes multiple attempts by the driver to position the vehicle properly. In such a procedure, the driver will often ram the vehicle into the trailer tongue, causing damage to the vehicle and/or trailer.
Once the vehicle is in proper position, the heavily laden trailer is lowered so that the socket of the trailer tongue engages the ball of the trailer hitch. This lowering procedure is typically accomplished by way of a cranking assembly composed of a vertical post which is clamped into position on the forward portion of the trailer tongue. The vertical post is provided with a gear rack which cooperates with a crank handle for movement of the clamp and attached trailer tongue with respect to the vertical post. Vertically adjustable posts are also known which carry vertically adjustable caster wheels at their lower end.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,687,219 to Rendzio and U.S. Pat. No. 4,094,527 to Miller both illustrate this type of vertically adjustable caster wheel. Characteristically, the wheels are mounted for pivotal movement about a vertical axis in the direction to follow the movements of the trailer tongue. The wheels are also mounted for free rotation about horizontal axes. Miller is interesting for its use of an additional retractable wheel which is mounted on a leg which precludes any steering movement of the wheel. This additional wheel is used for insuring a straight linear movement of the trailer when launching and retrieving the boat.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,266,796 to Riggs et al. also utilizes a wheel at the tongue of a trailer which can be raised and lowered for use in moving the trailer when it is not hitched to a vehicle. In addition to having a crank for raising and lowering the wheel, Riggs. et al. includes crank handles which can be used to steer and brake the rotation of the wheel to help manipulate a boat trailer into the water when a towing vehicle cannot be brought to the edge of the water. Riggs et al. does not, however, include means for driving the wheel, either manually or otherwise, for moving the trailer through rotation of the wheel.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,300,252 to Montooth discloses a trailer tongue arrangement with wheel which is meant for direct attachment to the bow of a boat. Additional wheels are provided at the stern of the boat. The wheel at the bow can be raised and lowered and its rotation can also be braked to control launching of the boat.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,504,403 to Finley and U.S. Pat. No. 2,908,266 to Cooper are cited for their disclosure of load carrying three-wheeled vehicles having two load carrying wheels at one end of the vehicles and a single power driven and steerable wheel at the opposite end of the vehicle.